


The Little KPop Drummer Boy

by Amlika



Category: Avenged Sevenfold, EXO (Band)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-29 11:13:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3894262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amlika/pseuds/Amlika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To become an official demon in hell, The Rev must complete an impossible mission: to corrupt and depress the legendary "Happy Virus"...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jimmy Sullivan was an amazing drummer for the California rock band "Avenged Sevenfold". I hope he's making some sweet music in heaven right now T_T 
> 
> Park Chanyeol is the rapping ferret boy of Korean Pop Band EXO.

"Enough! I hate hookers and blow! I hate bottle service in Vegas with super models! I hate dancing with Tiesto and a thousand naked chicks on a Spanish island! I hate it all!"

Jimmy looked up, eyes wide with anticipation. "Are you... perhaps upset?"

Chanyeol tried to shake off the pounding hungover headache, paused to ponder, and slowly slipped back into his signature angelic smile. "But I guess I wouldn't know I hate it without trying. So thanks, hyung!"

Jimmy was once again blinded by his sparkling white teeth, flashing through the huge grin.The crimson flames in Jimmy's eyes dimmed, as his demonic tail slowly dropped to the floor like that of a sad pup. Back to ground zero, he told himself, this is why demons should not believe in hope....

Life, or afterlife more appropriately, was not suppose to be so tough for him. Being a rock star in hell brought immense popularity. All the succubus girls adored him, and the young deceased souls were mostly loyal fans that requested for his music during their punishment hours. He got assigned the shiny title of entry level demon, and gladly went above to complete the required sporadic demonic sightings, before rushing back down to jam with Zeppelin or Dimebag, over an infinite supply of any drug of choice.

But then Satan, the Anti-Christ, the Beezlebub, or as Jimmy called him now, "the f'ing party pooper", made a requirement that all new demons must complete an impossible task to prove their "worthiness". And his assignment? To corrupt the legendary "Happy Virus", perhaps the most joyous and optimistic soul alive.

"Why? Why KPop? Why this girly goofy giant walking Rilakkulma plushie of a boy! Why why why...."

"Hyung, you are mumbling again. And maybe don't rub your face and pull on your hair like that, you will get wrinkles AND a bad hairstyle." Chanyeol subconsciously fluffed his own silvery bangs as he spoke.

Had it already been half a year since he first got spooked by this crazy tattoo covered doofus, Chanyeol wondered. Jimmy told him about the mission right from the start, something about corrupting his soul and such. Sure he was afraid in the beginning, but after a few months he started to realize Jimmy's tactics were quite...liberating? A few nights every week, Jimmy would teleport them to all sorts of crazy establishments all over the world. Always involving orgies, greed, drugs and a thousand other vices in excess, Chanyeol had experienced things he'd never even been able to imagine. He tried out every tattoo he'd ever wanted (Jimmy ensured they all somehow magically peeled off after a while), learned a lot about female anatomy without ever being caught by the Dispatch (prolly the best part of this whole deal), and met all sorts of other fascinating musicians (although it was very hard to discuss musical merits when everyone's high as a kite). Jimmy always refreshed him by the end of the night so he could perform the next day and the world was none the wiser.

The problem was, even though physically he's always recharged, emotionally everything just became a little... numb after a while. Kyungsoo was the first to notice after a particularly long night Chanyeol and Jimmy spent backstage at a heavy metal concert.

"Chanyeol, you seem so...detached today."

Chanyeol could feel Kyungsoo's huge expressive eyes peering at him. He tried to ignore them and tilted his head more for his selca. The photo came out perfectly, but Chanyeol knew all the filters in the world couldn't rid of the look of weariness in his eyes.

"Kyungsoo ah, have you ever thought about what this is all for? This job, this life, this.." His voice trailed off, and his gaze extending far beyond the practice room wall in front of him.

Unfazed by his friend's strange question, Kyungsoo was quiet for a moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was low but determined:"We are here to do what we love. It might take everything we got to keep working, but it's worth it."

So much was unsaid, but Chanyeol looked at his friend again, and he agreed.

That's why all the nights of greed and excess felt so liberating but hollow. He never earned any of it, never worked hard for it and yearned for it with all his soul. But sitting in a practice room after another long day of rehearsal, having Kyungson's firm shoulder next to him to rest on, he always felt infinitely more satisfied than all that crazy satanic magic could ever provide. All the boys in the band have fought so hard for their place in this job for as long as they could remember. Like soldiers of the same battalion, they were now bonded together by memories and sacrifices. The friendship and passion along had made the journey so fulfilling, that Chanyeol realized to his own surprise that fame, success and all other things he used to be fascinated about no longer interested him.

Snapping out of his meandering thoughts, Chanyeol's attention moved back to comforting the deflated Jimmy in front of him. "Hyung, could you teach me a few more things to practice on for drumming, please? I had so much fun last time!"

At the mention of drums, Jimmy jumped up so fast his tail knocked over a side table. "Oh sweet!!! Have you been using the practice pad I got you? Did you also use the metronome for your practices, cause it's awesome, right?!! Is your double stroke roll improving? Let's hear you drop some sick beats, boy, you are a natural! ..."

As Jimmy rambled on and hurried to adjust the drum set, Chanyeol made a secret mental note to trick this fearsome demon with a heart of gold into less corruption effort and more drumming lessons.


	2. Chapter 2

"Agh hyung, I knew I should've changed!" Chanyeol glanced at the surrounding and looked back down at himself: fluffy cartoon animal pajamas, a hard earned birthday gift from Showtime.

For once Jimmy had to agree with him. All around them was an oppressive darkness and the sound of a thousand whispering souls. The little boat they were traveling on was gliding silently through the waveless river that divided the living and the underworld, with their field of vision limited to only a small radius illuminated by an old lantern hung precariously at the front of the boat. Probably best not to disturb the crooked hooded figure steering the boat, or the massive hellhound perched beside the figure, black pointed ears erect and eyes shining in the darkness like burning ember globes.

"Sorry boy for waking you up and bringing you here, it's test day." Jimmy gave Chanyeol a gentle pat on the shoulder, and watched as Chanyeol gulped nervously at the sound of his words. "Don't worry. This test is meant to verify if I was able to corrupt your soul, no harms to you will be done. See, they are letting you cross the underworld river without losing all your life memories, not many mortals get to say that!" Chanyeol's sweaty hands tugged on his fluffy pajama shirt a little tighter.

By the time the boat landed, Chanyeol had been reduced to a shivering ball of nervous wreck, and Jimmy looked utterly bored. He mumbled apologetically about the inefficiency of bringing a living mortal through the underworld, as they went through massive crumbling gates with hundreds of strange peering creatures, and then settled into a dusty antique carriage led by four prancing skeleton horses blazing in flames. Sitting in the dark and warm carriage, finally worn out by all the fear and anxiety, a chanyeol felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. By the time Jimmy shook him awake, they had already arrived in front of an imposing ancient palace of sort.

Walking through endless empty corridors, they reached a massive room devoid of all furniture saved for two big imposing gilded thrones. The two seated figures got up to welcome them, and Chanyeol's worrying frown evaporated instantaneously. "Hyung!! Are they...? Can't be...!! Oh my, I played some Panterra in my first band Heavy Noise!"

"Yes yes, Zeppelin and Dimebag, in the flesh, well figuratively speaking anyway." Jimmy also appeared a bit surprised of this friendly encounter. Was this an epic demonic test or.. an idol fan meeting?

Chanyeol clapped enthusiastically like a happy seal, then regained his ingrained manners and reached for hand shakes while remaining in the deepest bow his lanky figure could manage.

"Hi there, Happy Virus and Rev, welcome to our humble abode!" Zeppelin gave both of Chanyeol and Jimmy an encouraging smile.

"So you guys are the test?!!" Jimmy asked incredulously.

"The big boss is out plotting some apocalyptic corruption scheme above, probably another Kardashian divorce or some presidential sex scandal." Dimebag winked at his drummer friend, his long hair shifting in the undetectable ghostly wind. "Hence we will carry out the test on his behalf. No need to be nervous guys, Jimmy's been working very hard on this case, and we heard Chanyeol was keen to try everything and may have even enjoyed a thing or two."

Chanyeol chimed in curiously:" So what's the test exactly and when does it start?"

"Well, it won't be as fun if we explain everything now will it? And take a deep breathe, because the test starts... NOW!" Zeppelin waved his hand decidedly in front of Chanyeol, and the world was replaced by a blinding white light that almost knocked him out.

Overwhelming flashing lights everywhere, accompanied by the clatters of tens of thousands of fans. Chanyeol rubbed his eyes to rid of the fogginess that clouds his vision and his mind. Frustratingly he tried to retrieve any last fragment of memory, of where and how he got here, and came up with nothing. It's as if all his recent memories were wiped clean.

"Hurry, get on stage now!" A rushed shove from the back, he turned around and saw a stoned faced Jongdae with tears welling up in his eyes. "What.." Before he could finish his sentence, another hard shove and he's walking onto the stage. The crowd of audience quieted, no pretty sparkling banners and lights, no cheers and his beloved fan chants, instead a silent eeriness that permeated the massive stadium. And the music started. It's Lucky, must be the end of another concert. Chanyeol sighed in relief, he had always loved performing this song, interacting with the adoring fans and relaxing to enjoy wrapping up yet another successful concert. He could do this, even though he had the strange feeling that something was terrible wrong this time around.

And then Baekhyun started singing, with a voice full of sadness that hit him like a hard punch to the heart. The other members were slowly making their ways to the edge of the stage, and instead of the usual flurry of joyous fan interactions, they were tearfully waving and bowing, while keeping their distance from the fans. And the fans... it's a sight that makes him sick to his stomach. All around the stage an ocean of bleakness. Many of the fans were crying uncontrollably, others were holding onto each other silently looking hurt and confused. His encouraging smiles were only returned with outbursts of tears and aversion of eye contact. After what felt like an eternity, the song ended and all the members returned to the center of the stage in a single line formation. He felt Sehun grabbing his hand and everyone bent into the deepest bow that lasts forever. They remained frozen in position until the stage lights dimmed, and one by one silently made their way off stage.

Chanyeol ran past the sobbing Sehun and grabbed Kyungsoo by the arm."What's going on? What happened? You have to tell me, I don't remember anything." Kyungsoo turned around and the look of despair on his face made Chanyeol wish he never asked.

"Chanyeol please I can't... I know this is all my fault... Please, I beg you, just let me go..." Kyungsoo's usually self assured and comforting voice was replaced by a pleading whisper, that seemed to have taken all of his strength to be uttered. Chanyeol loosened his grip and felt a wave of wariness wash over him. This must all be a terrible nightmare, and he desperately wanted to wake up.

"Chanyeol! Come over here! Chanyeol, NOW!" Everyone looked around to trace to the source of the loud yelling, and saw the band manager waving frantically at the end of a narrow white hallway. 

"Just go, it will be ok." Kyungsoo wiped the tears off his face and tried to sound encouraging. Chanyeol took one last look at all his band members. He will find out what has happened, and maybe there's a way to fix it all, there has to be...

The manager was visibly frustrated, by the time Chanyeol rushed to his side. "We don't have much time, you better be ready." He opened the door to reveal a big meeting room with a long table and one chair. On the other side of the table was a row of people sitting, and cameras and light equipment already set up and ready to go at multiple angles. A stylist noona hasely powdered his face and sorted hair, and before long he's sitting down on the lone chair at the center of the table.

"So Chanyeol, as you probably have already heard, all the photos from last night have already circulated online for the whole day. We have also received courtesy copies of all the newspapers that will be issued tomorrow morning." Chanyeol recognized the person speaking to be the Vice President of SM Entertainment. Following his gesture, Chanyeol opened the paper folder on the table in front of him, and felt faint at the sight of the photos splashed all over the newspaper front pages. Grainy overexposed photos, the background too dark to be recognizable. All the other faces had been blurred, but Chanyeol could clearly identify Sehun, Kai and Kyungsoo. It didn't matter they looked unconscious in most of the photos, the nudity and compromising positions they were placed in assaulted the senses like the scenes of a horrific car accident, grotesque but taunting the viewer to take another look. There were also naked females, alcohol and drugs shown in various parts of the photos. Whomever planned all this wanted to ensure that EXO's reputation was destroyed, for good.

"But I swear it wasn't our fault. They were picked up by the wrong car last night and were drugged right away. It took us many hours to even find them..." The band manager's shaky pleading voice trailed off as the VP motioned for him to stop. Chanyeol was instructed to continue going through the folder as the VP resumed speaking."Our attempts at stopping the photos from spreading have obviously failed. Someone has been orchestrating a very detailed plan which involved hiring social media users to overwhelm the Internet with photos and various eye witness accounts of the boys having a drug infused all nighter with underaged fans and such. No doubt this scandal they've created will last a while, there are already other rumors circulating involving forged photos regarding the three members' past. And based on fan reactions tonight, I'd say whomever created this scandal has succeeded, EXO's image is tarnished forever, no matter what we do now. "

Chanyeol looked down at the other documents in the paper folder, these appear to be talking points, for him, of an announcement of some sort. He tried to suppress the simmering anger caused by the complete detachment in the VP's tone of voice, and clumsily attempted to bargain for some help."But surely SM won't give up so easily. We've done nothing wrong, we can always explain and wait for the scandal to pass, like we've always done before, right?" The VP's eyes shined for a split second, and Chanyeol swore he saw something positively devilish in those eyes. "Park Chanyeol, there's always a solution to everything, the question should be whether it's worth the price. We have pored through all the public polls and our long term strategic planning, you are currently the member with the most diversified career path and popularity spanning various critical demographics. We cannot save the band, but we can use the remaining fame of the band to launch a whole new universal star, as long as you are willing to sever your ties now."

"Wait, I'm not understanding this. You want to...give up on the band?! We've all worked so hard on this. You want me to... to ditch Exo?! I'm not that selfish..." Chanyeol struggled to comprehend what's happening and was almost at a lost for words. He looked at the manager in a panic but received no support. He's in this alone.

"Enough!" The VP stood up in a fit of frustration:"Stop being so ungrateful. I'm offering you what you've always dreamt of! Deep down inside you know that Exo is both a miracle and a curse for your career: it propelled you to stardom, but you will always have to share the spotlight with everyone else, and settle for lukewarm personal success. That is, until the new wave of younger idols pushes all of you out of the way, and your solo career steadily withers away without the fame of Exo. Well, this is your chance to change all of that, Park Chanyeol." The VP gestured at the rest of the few people sitting in the room."We've drafted the announcement already, it will be delicately worded so the public will be sympathetic of your situation and anticipate the hints of your solo activities in the future. These senior news reporters here will edit the video announcement you will record tonight and ensure the media projects a positive response. There will be a task force created specifically to scout out every career opportunity you are interested in, and to tweak your public image to ensure your popularity remains strong forever. Congrats, kiddo, you've out-competed everyone at Korea's most popular entertainment agency, and will have our full backing for an unstoppable solo career!" The VP's every word echoed Chanyeol's secret ambitions. It frightened him to have all his private fears and desires exposed under such dire conditions. He tried to voice the absurdity of the situation but the words would not come out. A thousand thoughts raced through his head as he desperately wished for a bit more time to think everything through.

As if able to read his mind, the VP's reprimanding tone continued. "Unfortunately there's not much time left for us, the public opinion is changing by the minute as the whole fiasco continues to evolve online. To capitalize whatever reputation is left of your previous image, and to preserve your existing upcoming solo commitments, we need to get the announcement video completed tonight. Are you ready to make the move? Or maybe you prefer to stay with your band friends on a sinking ship? You know the company has a whole slew of rookies to focus our attention on, EXO from this day onward will just be another forgotten group in hiatus, too bad." The VP beamed with confidence, the choice seemed so obvious to him.

The room was silent now, Chanyeol felt everyone's gaze upon him. The same expecting gaze he had felt since he was little, from his loving mom who always tried to groom him into becoming an entertainer; from all the passionate fans that followed him around even before debut; from a thousand trainers, peers, sponsors, stylists, reporters, photographers.... Always surrounded by a crowd but always a little alone. He wanted to seek for a comforting shoulder to rest upon, wanted to find a sunbae to help him navigate through the most absurdly challenging decision of his life, but deep down inside he knew, that he had always relied on himself, nobody else. And then, memories of the past few years flashed before his eyes, of absentmindedly looking for Kris in the dance formation long after his departure, of comforting a teary eyed Baekyung during the Taeyeon dating scandal, of persevering through every perfomance no matter how sick or weak he felt... Even during the gloomiest hours of crisis, it always felt better to bury the burdening thoughts deep inside, put on a happy face instead, and take care of everyone around him.  

There was always just one choice, screw all this non-sense, time to show them the true meaning of the Happy Virus! Chanyeol inwardly cheered himself on, and cleared his thoughts. He stood up and bowed deeply at the VP." Thank you for the opportunity, I'm very grateful, I really am. Well, this might be the dumbest thing I have ever done in my life yet, hehe..." Chanyeol started to grin." But I cannot do the announcement. I'd like to stay with the band." 

There were muffled gasps coming from everyone in the room, including the band manager. Again, the VP was the first one to respond, his voice now lower and dripping with anger."Let me clarify again, Park Chanyeol. Success and endless opportunities, or stick with the band that the company has chosen to abandon. Wait, or maybe you prefer we make this offer to Yixing instead, he'd make a handsome profit in China no doubt. But I always took you to be the competitive kind, you wouldn't give up this opportunity so easily to a peer, would you?" 

"With all due respect sir, let me clarify also." Chanyeol habitually fluffed his bangs, and his cheerful smile remained. "All of EXO has always promised to stick together, and I will not betray and leave my friends, especially when they are going through the toughest part of their careers. You can dice and slice the band, or promote whomever you prefer, the rest of us will try to keep working no matter how small the project is, as long as there's one fan left cheering for us. My apologies again sir, right now I really need to get back to the band." Another deep bow, before everyone could even recover from the shock to stop him, Chanyeol walked towards the door. All he could think of was Kyungsoo's teary face, and how he desperately wanted to go wipe those tears away and make him smile again. Yes Kyungsoo wold probably punch him out for it, but frankly it would feel like a welcoming relief compared to this nightmare he's stuck in right now.

As his hand impatiently turned the doornob, the door opened and on the other side was not the white backstage hallway he went through, but a blinding spacing of nothingness. Chanyeol felt dizzy as all of his memories, of hell, of Jimmy and the test coming rushing back to him like a tidal wave. Before he passed out of consciousness he could hear the concerned voices chattering around him.

"Jimmy, he frigging failed the test... We served up everything he ever wanted on a silver platter, and, NOPE, kid wanted to be a martyr. You didn't corrupt his soul one bit!"

"But, but... I tried everything! I spent more than half a year on this case!" 

"I'm sorry buddy but rule are rules. If a demon is unable to perform the demonic task assigned, he will cease to be in hell."

"WHAT!!! I didn't know this rule?! You gonna frigging kill me? I'm already dead Darrell! NOOOO....."

Chanyeol could no longer fight the overwhelming drowziness and sank into a dark unconsciousness. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Hyung!!! I thought, I thought you were gone! I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. What did they do to you?!!" Tears welled up in Chanyeol's eyes, as he rushed to embrace the tall figure that appeared in front of him out of the blue, in the dark empty practice room. It had been a few weeks since the failed test, and after he woke up in his dorm alive and with all his memories restored, Chanyeol was  ecstatic to see all his band members happily carrying out their usual routines with no heartwrenching disbandment in sight; but he also couldn't erase the guilt over causing the demise of his new beloved demon friend. 

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure myself."Jimmy coughed and shifted around nervously, fidgeting with the blindingly white robe he's wearing. All his hundreds of tattoos were gone, replaced by pale skin glowing with a saintly aura. His usually shaggy tresses were trimmed and neatly arranged beneath a shining halo that emitted the warmest luminosity. Well, unfortunately there's really no other way to put this, Jimmy looked...angelic. "This is... my punishment?"

It took quite a bit of conversation for Jimmy to explain exactly what had happened. Zeppelin and Dimebag fought for his case pretty hard in hell, arguing that Chanyeol's incredulous martyr behavior called for heaven to be a part of the test result determination as well. Many realm shattering debates later, the Angels, who were quite pleased with the outcome of the test, found a loophole: Jimmy would cease to exist in hell by becoming an angel in heaven! 

Chanyeol felt so relieved as the guilt of being a demon killer vanished. "Waah, you are so lucky hyung! Heaven must be amazing!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes again."It's ok I guess. No booze, no drugs, no hot succubus. The angels did allow me to play some music in heaven as long as I don't use tritonic chords. Oh and I get zapped if I cuss so I don't talk much anymore..."

Chanyeol was starting to bow apologetically again when Jimmy waved for him to stop. "It's ok, I'll survive! I did hear some encouraging news though, because of all the drum training I gave you, you are now destined to be the best KPop drummer in the near future! So rad, I've never had the chance to teach someone drumming..."

Jimmy spoke enthusiastically, but... Chanyeol tilted his head in confusion."Hyung, your sentences got silenced all of a sudden, I couldn't hear a word. What did you just say?"

"Agh fuc.. OUCH!!! ARRRGGHHH! Darn it! Must be yet another holy pain-in-the-butt rule so I can't talk about the future. Oh well, boy, just practice a lot of drumming ok? I saw your solo performances at the concerts, it was great! Don't give up practicing!"

Chanyeol looked like a big happy puppy that just got petted for being a good boy. He bolted up to give Jimmy a bear hug. "Thank you Hyung. I'm sure your life in heaven will get better."

Jimmy laughed. "It's not too bad, there are other perks. I also got assigned to be the guardian angel of my old band!!!" And that was truly a glorious lucky break. Jimmy thought about how tearful everyone was where he appeared in front of them with the good news. Well, Zack and Johnny freaked out initially thinking it was yet another bad mushroom trip, but after a bit of convincing it was all gravy. Since then Jimmy has even spent some time with Mike to compose a few new songs, and man alive was it ever awesome to be able to chill with Brian again. Watching Brian sweat over one of his fingering twisting solos, and jamming along on his old drum set that the band had kept as a momento, Jimmy could almost pretend that he had never left his beloved band members, these goofy boys that tugged at his heartstrings even in the afterlife.

"Well, I gotta jet, this is farewell then, boy. You were right all along, stick with your bandmates and you'll be alright." Jimmy's cheerful voice resonated as his halo brightened and engulfed him in a soft glow. His last words echoed in the dark practice room after his figure faded away. "Oh and I checked for you, ferrets go to heaven too, you lucky kid."

Chanyeol stood in the now empty practice room, frozen in thoughts. For a brief moment, his lone shadow looked so small and vulnerable, like that of a little boy forever searching for his beloved pet ferret. Slowly his silly giddy grin creeped back onto his face, as he walked back to his drum set, and started practicing again.

END


End file.
